Eric Liu: The Art of Effective and Creative Citizenship

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Eric LiuAuthor and activist Eric Liu discusses the art of effective and creative civic citizenship.

The Aspen Ideas Festival is one of the largest annual gatherings of thought leaders and innovators in the world and one such trailblazer is educator Eric Liu.

Liu is the executive director of the Aspen Institute’s Citizenship and American Identity Program and the founder and CEO of Citizen University. The goal of his programs is to teach leaders, activists and practitioners the art of effective and creative civic citizenship.

“The only way we’re going to heal what’s broken in our system right now is from the bottom up and the middle out,” explained Liu.

Eric Liu: The Art of Effective and Creative Citizenship

Eric Liu, founder and CEO of Citizen University, discusses his belief that we all need to be part of something bigger than ourselves.

Recognized by The New York Times and The Washington Post as a leading voice of his generation, Liu was a White House speechwriter for President Bill Clinton and later served as Clinton’s Deputy Domestic Policy Advisor. The son of Chinese immigrant parents, Liu has written several acclaimed books that highlight his storytelling abilities, penchant for new ideas and his civic involvement.

“We have to become literate again in power. We have to learn again what it means to govern ourselves, learn again what it means to organize other people, learn what it means to advocate for the change that you want,” said Liu.

Mike Walter sat down with Liu at the 2016 Aspen Ideas Festival and discussed his belief that we all need to be part of something bigger than ourselves and that individual involvement can have powerful impact.